December 7, 2022 - Heading Home

Hotel Near Pensacola Airport

Both of us had our phone alarms on, but we were awake slightly after 2:00 a.m.  Kip went downstairs and got us both a coffee.  We were down in the lobby by 3:00 a.m. and the hotel employee told us to sit and relax, the airport doesn't open until 4:00 a.m.

So, we sat and had coffee and snuck some breakfast while the employee was starting to set it up.  We were going to walk a "few blocks" to the airport, but the shuttle was leaving at 4:00, so we took the shuttle.  Good thing we did, a "few blocks" would have taken us a while!

The Pensacola Airport is small, so we got through security easily.  We have a layover in Atlanta and then home this afternoon.  Mary is picking us up and driving us home.  It is cold! 

We got home, unloaded the car, and stood looking around.  We felt completely out of place and couldn't remember how to run the tv!   We can no longer bend over to grab a spoon out of the cabinet when sitting at the table or see dolphins following us in the water, but we will see our loved ones and have actual beds, PLUS we won't need to move out of each other's way ALL of the time, walk back and forth outside to do our laundry, ride bikes to get groceries, watch out for alligators, or pump out our toilet!  Both places are now part of our lives, and we are fine with both of them!

There are many activities planned while we are home (getting a Christmas tree, family Christmas events, spending time with my dad, decorating the inside/outside of our house, catching up on mail, babysitting grandkids, working on quilts, and getting through our "to-do" lists), so we will be busy most of the time.

We are returning to Florida at the end of January 2023 to continue our trip.  We will resume our blog at that time. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  

December 6

Barber Marina, Elberta, Alabama

No surprise, our clothes are still damp!  Go figure.

We worked all morning on getting the boat ready for storage.

Kip called an airport shuttle to take us to the Pensacola Airport, and they are picking us up at 1:00 p.m.  

We pumped out the head (toilet), then drove the boat to the loading dock where they pick up the boat and put it on cradle.

Once on the cradle, Kip flushed the salt water out of the engine, air/reverse cycle and dingy motor, unloaded the items we were taking on the plane, loaded the bikes on the back deck,ait for the shuttle to arrive. afetr we were don with the Tug, it gets picked up again with the giant forklifts and put inside the building.

The shuttle driver, Bob, got lost.  He said he would arrive at noon, but he didn't get there until 1:00 p.m., which was no big deal for us.  He wasn't happy.  Bob is an older gentleman, and he was seriously flustered.  He mentioned that Barbers should go out of business because they are dumb, etc.  Yikes.

After a few minutes, Bob lightened up and talked the entire hour to the hotel by the airport (bible stories, jokes, how Barber is loaded , etc.).  Kip was extremely quiet during the ride, as I talked to Bob and responded when it seemed appropriate.  As Kip said, "His kids should probably tell him to quit driving ", because he was all over the road and across lanes, yelling at the other drivers!  

We checked into the hotel and walked a few miles to get supper.  On the way back, we decided to sit by the pool for a while and put our feet in.  It was in the low 70s and was sunny.  Eventually we got books and sat and read until it got dark.

We were in bed early because our flight is at 5:20 a.m.  It feels weird being in a bed and having a tv!  We miss the boat already but are excited to see everyone at home.  

December 5, 2022

Barber Marina, Elberta, Alabama

We've got lots to do today to get ready for the boat to be stored.  We spent several hours going through every storage area and gathering items that take up space and we haven't used and bring them home in the Spring.

Our clothes are not dry from being washed yesterday, so we are hanging them on chairs, rails, wherever we can, to get them to dry before noon Tuesday.  It is cloudy today with hardly any breeze, so it is not an ideal day to air dry clothes.  We are hoping the sun will appear and take care of it.

After we organized the inside of the boat, Kip dropped the radar tower, and we took the kayak down.  The marina charges by the foot, so we need to condense as much as we can as far as height.  It is amazing how squatty the boat looks without them.

Kip went on a quick dinghy ride to get a closer look at the lady in the water.  It is amazing how many people boat in, take pictures of her, and leave.  It is quite the attraction, I guess!

We went out on the kayak for a while, and then took the dinghy several miles to Pirate's Cove for lunch.  After lunch, we took the dinghy into the bayou backwaters to look around.  The humidity is 99%, so back at the boat we moved the clothes into the boat and turned the heater on to try and get them dry.

After I got up from a nap 😏, Kip wanted to show me what he found while I was sleeping.  We walked outside of the marina (in the dark and in very thick fog) and the grounds were amazing.  Old cement benches with lions on them, sculptures of Pelicans, sea horses, and dolphins, and even a water fountain with horses, lions, and other sculptures on it.  We walked a bit further and cut across the grass to figure out what the circle of blue lights were.  Kip saw big holes in the ground and said, "I think we need to get out of this area" and we turned around and came back.  

We were full of burgers and fries from lunch, so we didn't eat supper we just snacked a bit.  The refrigerator is now turned off, so tomorrow we will need to clean out any food items that will spoil and toss them.  

We are happy with what we got done today, and hope everything goes well tomorrow when they take the boat out and put it into storage.

December 4, 2022

Fort Mcree Cove (Anchored), Florida to Barber Marina, Elberta, Alabama

Kip was up early sitting on the back deck and the dolphins decided to join him.  He said there were quite a few (or maybe the same ones) in the Cove eating breakfast.

When I got up, Kip made breakfast:  pop tarts and oatmeal.  Then we left for Barber Marina.  We saw dolphins on the way to the marina too.  They were jumping right next to our boat!  

The marina is nice, but there weren't many boats there.  It seems Hurricane Sally in 2018 claimed their docks and 30 boats, so they had to rebuild.  The also fixed and put the "water lady" back in the water.  To me, she looks like she is participating in a water birth, kind of creepy.

The docks at this marina are all new, which means the new power plugins are updated due to a diver's death.  These updated power plugins don't work that great for some boats and the breaker pops.  Well, we are one of those boats.  The dock person said he thinks this will be a problem for them in the future.  Kip is getting a specific plug that will resolve the issue (otherwise we have to go without power).

When we checked in, they told us that their washer and dryer were not working.  Oh...  I wish we would have known that earlier.  We didn't do laundry at The Wharf because we wanted to wait until we got closer to going home.  So... two buckets and some unscented Tide, I got the laundry done and had to hang them on the boat rails (underwear and all)!

We talked to a number of people (some were walking down the dock and some in boats - all taking pictures of the water lady).  Many people stop to ask us about our boat and state that they always wanted a Ranger Tug.  We are very lucky to have the ability to enjoy this boat.

Someone stopped by and asked if the water lady "had her baby yet."  

Tomorrow, we have to clean up the boat, take the bikes and kayak off, and get it ready to be put into storage.  A couple walking down the dock told us about a great kayaking spot with lots of dolphins, so we will probably sneak that in as well.  

But, for tonight, after dinner, we are going to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. 

December 3, 2022

Ingram Bayou, Near Orange Beach (Anchored), AL to Fort Mcree Cove (Anchored), Florida 

Kip said that I am the "captain" for the entire day, so I guess I'm in for some training.  

We left Ingram Bayou pretty early.

We saw dolphins again on our way.  They are hard to capture, but Kip got the flipper!

There are so many boats at Mcree's today.  

We had lunch and went to shore to check out the shells on the Gulf Shore side.  Kip instructed me on how to unhook, start, and maneuver the dinghy.  I'm not as smooth at it as he is!  I found another snake eye, a jingle, and an angel wing shell.  We also found two half-Scotch Bonnets (drat).  They were small but they were so pretty.  Too bad they were broken.  

We got back and took our chairs and books to the beach.  

It was starting to get cloudy, and we felt raindrops, so we packed up and went back to the boat.  We sat on the back deck for a short time and ended up inside listening to the Wild hockey game (which they won in a shootout)!  

Kip took the dinghy out for sunset photos.  

I am relaxing on the back of the boat while Kip took his "sunset" cruise with the dingy.

Tomorrow we are heading to Barber's Marina where we will be storing the boat.  We have much work to do organizing and cleaning, especially since we are only taking a backpack on the plane home with us.  

Shelly's first Nebo statistics!